Humble Beginnings
by momoxtoshiro
Summary: From one of the coldest, darkest places comes one of the warmest, brightest gifts.


**Another commission for ChuckleBrotherz in the Zwei saga! This fic follows in the footsteps of several, which are Overcoming Differences, A Loyal Companion, A Little Hero's Big Adventure, The Story Of Zwei, and The Huntress' Vacation.**

 **A/N: This fic will explore Zwei's backstory as hinted at in those previous fics. I will also be using a different kind of writing style from usual, as it will be told mainly from Zwei's perspective, so certain items and people will be capitalized for their significance to him.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

* * *

Humble Beginnings

It was cold.

He didn't know much more other than that.

Cold.

Scary.

Lonely.

He was still just a pup, so he couldn't really recognize too many other things.

It had only been two days since he'd been alive, and he'd only opened his eyes yesterday.

Yesterday had been the best day of his tiny life.

He'd been so warm, so safe, so happy.

He could still remember the comfort of his mother's belly, the writhing, whimpering bodies of his siblings as they all cuddled close for her unbridled protection.

He'd lapped at her milk with a healthy gusto that only the first days of life could have encouraged. He'd churned his tiny paws against her belly for more, crying happily whenever she'd rasp her tongue over his head. He always felt warmer whenever she did that.

Feeding was exhausting though, and he'd fallen asleep shortly afterward, flanked by his slumbering brothers and sisters who wheezed little snores of content.

He'd never seen the place where he'd been born, but apparently it hadn't been a safe place.

His instincts had flared up for the first time last night, an innate signal that something Bad was going to happen. He knew his mother and siblings sensed it too, but they were all too tired or small to move.

That had been his first time ever seeing a Creature different from his own family.

It had been big, much bigger than his mother.

And it had been so loud it made his ears tremble.

The terrible creature barked and howled at them furiously, a clear warning to desert this territory.

But his poor mother had been too weak to move, and her pups couldn't possibly have moved on their own yet. The horrible fear had consumed him, and he had fallen asleep for a long time.

And when he'd woken, he'd been alone.

And he was still alone.

No matter how much he sniffed and whined and pleaded, his mother never came back.

He couldn't find her. He needed to find her!

And his brothers and sisters didn't come back either. He needed to find them!

He wanted to be warm again.

He wanted to fill his belly with warm milk.

He wanted to sleep in a safe place.

He wanted to be loved again.

It was this fierce passion for all the basic desires of anything alive that caused him to scramble to his paws for the first time.

It was still hard to see. His eyelids were so heavy and everything everywhere was dark.

It was hard to stand, too. Even though he hadn't fed in a very long day, his belly still felt heavy when he tried to use his stubby legs.

He tried using one paw, then the other, then the other, then the other. When that didn't work, he decided to try using two of them at the same time. He pushed and pushed against the hard, cold ground, feeling his paws tingle with shivers. He dragged himself a little bit, but then fell onto his belly again.

With a whimper, he tried again, this time using all four paws at the same time.

At last he felt himself being lifted, and for the first time, he could feel space beneath his belly fur. It felt strange, and he laid down again just to make sure the ground was still there.

Once he was sure it was, he stood up again and waddled around, blinking his eyes open wider.

It was still dark everywhere, and still cold. He wanted to be warm.

So he cried for help. He cried for his mother. He cried for his siblings. He cried for warmth and safety.

His little wobbly voice rose up to fill whatever space surrounded him, a tiny howl. It was soft compared to the bellowing of the big Creature he'd seen before, but he hoped it was good enough.

He kept crying until his mouth was dry, and then his voice died away into little hiccups.

Only then did he get the chance to use his nose.

Everything smelled the same as it had for a long time, but he could still remember the smell of warm fur and milk. He tried to find it again, exchanging his howls for silence now as he followed his nose.

He followed it everywhere. Sometimes it touched nothing. Sometimes he bumped into hard things and he turned around and waddled the other way.

It was after a long time, long enough for his belly to start growling, when his nose twitched and picked up a familiar scent.

He knew this scent. It was his sister!

With a happy yip, he scampered down the dark space and the hard ground, calling out to her.

'I'm here! I'm here!'

He ran and ran and ran as fast as his legs could take him. Her scent was even stronger now.

'I'm here! I'm here!'

And he found her at last.

His little paws stumbled over her, flailing as he tumbled on top of her furry body. He yipped again as he scrambled up to her, pawing at her playfully and licking her head. It was just like when he'd lain with her beside their mother and drank warm milk and felt safe.

He was so happy to see her! He licked and nuzzled her and gently nipped her ear and tugged it. He yipped and swatted her excitedly, his stump of a tail wagging.

But she never licked him or yipped back.

He tried again to make her play, pushing his nose against her flank. Why was she still asleep? He was here now! They could play together and look for Mother!

He whined and nudged her again, prodding her back with his paw. But still, she did not move.

He whimpered now and sat down beside her. When he touched her again he realized she was cold, too. Just like this place and the ground.

Only yesterday, she had been warm and happy like him.

She wasn't warm anymore.

He started to cry again. Instinct told him she wasn't going to play with him ever again.

But... they'd only played for one day! He wanted to play with her more!

Sad and frustrated, he nudged her again and again, whining and begging her to get up and walk like he did.

But she didn't even open her eyes.

She was so cold...

So he curled up beside her and tried to make her warm. He licked her like their mother had licked them. He laid on his side and put his belly to her nose, wondering if he could give her milk as Mother had.

But his sister didn't move ever again.

He stayed with her and cried, wailing out loud, louder than he had before. His tongue and throat hurt, but he just kept howling and crying.

He was cold again.

And he was alone again.

* * *

He wasn't sure why he woke up again.

He'd wanted to just sleep forever next to his cold little sister, but he opened his eyes again a while later. It was still cold and dark.

He nudged his sister again, but she never moved. He didn't want to leave her, but he wasn't strong enough to take her with him.

So he waddled around the area nearby, going in circles and whining. His belly was howling louder than he was now, and he was shivering. His tiny claws shuddered beneath him on the hard ground, and his ears drooped.

When was Mother going to come back? She needed to wake his sister up...

He cried for her, a cry only a pup could call for his mother with. If she'd been around, she would have come running. She should have come a long time ago. She never should have left in the first place.

He knew that, and that's why instinct told him something Bad had happened to her, and to the rest of his siblings.

He needed to leave his sister now, because his belly was screeching so loudly.

He waddled slowly, sniffing the air to try and catch the scent of anything other than cold.

It took a while, but eventually, he smelled something.

It wasn't warm or nice like his mother's milk had smelled, but it still smelled alright.

He scampered over to its source: a big, crinkly object. It wasn't solid like the ground, so he used his claws and teeth to tear it open.

A lot of things came out of it. They smelled old and strange, but he was desperate.

He bit into whatever didn't make him flinch, chewing sometimes on hard things and sometimes on squishy things. He had never eaten before, only drank, so it was difficult to learn how to use his teeth. He spat a lot of things out, but managed to swallow a few of them. A couple of the things tasted Good, but most of them didn't.

After eating a little bit, he got an idea. He'd take some back to his sister! Maybe she'd wake up and eat with him!

He was too eager to wake her up to remember the innate instinct that told him she'd never open her eyes again. He was determined to save her.

So he dug his teeth into the nearest thing that tasted Good and pulled it with all his strength. He dragged it across the ground, grunting and panting.

But before he could make it back to his sister, he heard something. Something big.

Instantly, he remembered the big Creature that had found his mother and the rest of them a few days ago. Something told him that Creature had taken his mother away.

Whimpering, he dropped the food and scrambled to hide behind it, shaking and crying. He looked up in the darkness and saw a Big Creature, just like the first one.

He was frozen with fear, trembling and sniffling. Was the Creature going to take him away too? Could it take him back to Mother?

He was almost hopeful for a moment, but as the Creature stepped closer, he recoiled again.

Then it barked at him, but it wasn't loud and scary like the first one. This Creature barked more softly, and it even crouched down and made itself smaller, less scary. He didn't know what it was saying, but it said this:

"Another one, huh? I'll be damned. You pulled through all this time, you little champ. I thought your sister was the only one. I'm glad at least one of you survived."

The Creature inched closer, and the pup moved away. He cried at first, then remembered his little sister, and that he needed to protect her. Then he started to growl, a tiny, raspy grunt to warn the Big Creature off. He needed to protect his sister!

The Big Creature stopped, and he thought he was winning. He kept growling, louder and louder, puffing out his chest.

Then the Creature made a strange barking noise.

"Hahaha! Little rascal's still got some spunk left in him!"

The Big Creature reached out its paw. The pup was confused to see no fur on it. There was only a bit of yellow fur on top of the Creature's head.

He didn't know what to do with the big paw, so he cautiously lifted his head and sniffed it.

He'd never smelled anything like it before. It was warm, almost like what his mother and siblings had smelt like.

Alive.

Slowly, he let his tongue out and gave a lick.

It was a little salty, but he liked it.

Unlike the other Big Creature before, this one didn't scare him now. It seemed friendly, and the pup now knew that maybe all of them weren't scary and loud.

So he crawled out from behind the food he'd been dragging and cried. Maybe the Big Creature could make him warm again.

He cried and wailed, heartbreaking sounds he didn't know were winning the Big Creature over by the second.

"Looks like I've got no choice. You've gotta come home with me, little buddy. I know some pretty little ladies who'd love to see you."

The big pink paw came out again and scooped him up. The pup growled a little bit out of fear, but the Big Creature didn't hurt him. It lifted him up higher than he'd ever been before, but it didn't let him fall.

Instead, it curled him up to its belly, just like Mother had done.

The pup cried and nuzzled in close, nibbling and looking for milk, but he couldn't find any.

He felt the Big Creature start to move, but then he remembered his sister. He yipped loudly, flailing his paws and trying to get back to her. But the Big Creature touched his head and calmed him down.

"Don't worry, little fella. I won't leave her behind."

The Big Creature crouched down over the pup's little sister and scooped her up as well. She didn't bark or whine or open her eyes.

But the pup felt better now that she was coming with him, wherever that might be.

He was tired and still hungry.

But at least now he was warm.

He closed his eyes and fell asleep in the Big Creature's paw.

* * *

TaiYang carried the puppies all the way back home.

He was a little hesitant - Yang was only six years old, and Ruby only four. This would be the first time they'd be exposed to death on something of a scale larger than a beetle.

With a pup in each hand, he could only knock his foot lightly against the door. Summer opened it, her bright smile and warm greeting words quickly fading as her eyes caught sight of the lifeless bundle in his left hand.

"Oh, no..." she sighed. "What's this?"

He slipped inside the house and leaned over to kiss her head.

"Found her in an alley. I couldn't leave her there. Just wanted to bury her." He tucked the still puppy into his chest, then extended his other hand, smirking just a little. "But, as is the way of the world, not all hope's lost." He revealed the other little puppy to her, snoozing and twitching in his sleep.

Summer's silver eyes lit up like stars. She smiled and put a hand to her chest.

"How precious. Are you going to show the girls?"

"Better than that. I was thinking maybe we could take him in. He's an orphan."

Summer was quiet for a moment, but the fond smile never left her face as she looked over the puppy. She reached out to run a finger over its head and spoke with unwavering compassion.

"All the more reason to keep him, then. He's part of the family now."

TaiYang smiled and kissed her again.

He headed into the living room where he could hear his daughters laughing and playing. Ruby's high-pitched voice rose up in triumph.

"Take _that_ , evil Grimm wolfie!"

Then came Yang's dramatic reply.

"Oh noooo! The most famous huntress ever, Ruby Rose, has defeated me!"

TaiYang and Summer walked in just in time to see Yang topple onto the carpet with Ruby on top of her. Yang couldn't keep up her act of being a deceased Beowolf for long though, because Ruby started to tickle her. Yang squealed and flailed beneath her, laughing and begging for mercy.

"Uncle, uncle!"

"Where?" Ruby gasped. "Uncle Qrow's here?"

"Nope! Got'cha!" Yang tackled her little sister in a squealing mass of giggles.

Their parents didn't interfere for a moment, until TaiYang felt the sleeping puppy in his hand stir. With a glance to Summer, she understood and took the lifeless pup from him, holding it against her chest.

TaiYang cleared his throat to announce his presence to his daughters, smiling as soon as they looked up.

"Daddy, Daddy!" Ruby called out. "Did you see? I beat the Beowolf!"

"I saw!" he said. "You'll make a fine huntress in a few years' time."

"Me, too?" Yang asked.

"You too, of course."

He'd kept the puppy cradled against his shirt until now, and as the girls stood up, they could tell there was something there. They peered up at him with curious eyes, eager to discover the secret. He shared another quick glance with Summer and she nodded.

TaiYang went first, crouching down so the girls could see better.

"While I was out today, I found this little guy." He revealed the tiny puppy to them, still curled up in slumber.

Both girls gasped and squealed, then quickly covered their mouths so they wouldn't wake him up.

"He's so cute!" Ruby squealed.

"Where'd you find him?"

"He was in an alley, all alone," their father replied. "Poor little guy was eating out of the trash. There was no mother in sight, so I decided to take him home with me."

"Can we pet him?" Ruby asked, jumping up and down.

"Not yet," TaiYang said. "He's a little dirty. Once he wakes up, I'll give him a bath and then you can pet him."

"Oh boy, oh booooy!" She hugged Yang in her excitement. "And are we gonna keep him?"

TaiYang smiled.

"Your mother and I don't see why not."

"Eeeee!" Ruby squealed again and squeezed Yang harder. "Yang, we're getting a puppy!"

"A puppy!" her sister repeated. "That's so cool! He'll be our first pet ever!"

"That's right," their father agreed. But then he flashed a glance at Summer and nodded for her to come over. "Now girls, you've seen this little guy. He's going to live and we'll keep him. But he's not the only one I found in that alley."

Summer then revealed the limp little bundle in her arms. Ruby and Yang looked there and gasped.

"Another one?" Ruby squealed. "So then Yang and I can each have one?"

"Not quite, Rosebud," TaiYang said sadly. "That's his little sister, and well... she didn't make it."

Ruby's smile instantly vanished.

"Oh no..."

Tears welled up in her eyes and she ducked her face into Yang's chest, hugging her tightly. Yang held her close to comfort Ruby, and spoke in a subdued voice.

"You mean... she's...?"

TaiYang nodded.

Yang's heart sank and she felt tears start to fall down her cheeks. She hugged Ruby tighter and tried to hush her.

It was Summer's turn to talk to the girls, and she did so very gently.

"Sadly, this is the way the world works, and you girls need to begin to understand that. I know it's painful, but it's reality." She reached out with her free hand to gather the girls close to her, kissing them both in turn. "Some things may die. But that means others will live."

She nodded back to the sleeping puppy TaiYang was holding. Ruby sniffled again and Yang wiped her eyes, feeling a little better. Summer gave them both a small hug before letting them go.

"The very least we can do is bury those we've lost, and appreciate those we still have." She stood once more, cradling the limp puppy. "I'll get a box to put her in. Your father will dig her a grave."

Yang nodded, hugging her little sister again. But Ruby surprised them all when she lifted her tearstained face and made a wobbly request.

"Can... Can I help bury her?"

Yang hadn't expected to hear Ruby ask such a thing, but she quickly joined her.

"Yeah... me too. Can we?"

Their parents looked to one another. TaiYang smiled gently.

"I don't see why not. Why don't you two make her grave marker?"

The two girls perked up a little now that they had something to do.

"Okay," Ruby said. "I just wanna help her pass on."

"Yeah. We can help her rest in peace," Yang added.

TaiYang and Summer were rather touched by their daughters' courage and drive to accept the puppy's death.

So Summer gave TaiYang the dead puppy and took the sleeping one for herself, bringing him into the kitchen to prod him awake and give him a bath in the sink.

In the meantime, Ruby and Yang got their coats and shoes on. TaiYang found a little shoe box in the closet and filled it with newspaper, then placed the puppy inside.

Once ready, his daughters followed him outside. They collected tiny leaves and feathers along the way across their backyard, then handed them to him so he could line the box with them. He took a shovel from their shed, then put the box aside as he started digging.

Ruby and Yang collected small stones from around the yard, and picked as many wild flowers as they could find. They gathered everything into a small pile as TaiYang continued to dig.

It didn't take him very long, and soon the three of them gathered around the little box.

Ruby and Yang each laid a small flower beside the puppy before TaiYang closed the lid over it. He placed the box in the hole and began to cover it, while his daughters knelt in the grass with hands clasped in prayer.

Once the hole was covered, they made a small ring of stones on top of it, and laid flowers all around those. Ruby and Yang shed a few more tears for the puppy, and TaiYang kept an arm around them both.

After a while, he patted them both and helped them up.

"This is good enough, girls. We've done all we can. But let's not dwell on death. We've got to enjoy the life that's still going on."

They both hugged him, and together they headed back into the house.

* * *

The puppy slept for a long time, probably the longest time in his entire life since he'd been born a few days ago.

When he woke, he stretched out his paws, hoping to find his mother's warm belly, until he remembered that he was alone. He expected to feel the cold ground again, and his sister's even colder body beside him.

But neither of those things were here now. And neither was the cold.

He was warm again, but the scent that touched his nose wasn't that of the Big Creature. At least, not the same one that had found him.

He blinked his eyes open slowly, paws churning against something soft. When he looked up, he heard a gentle bark.

"Oh! Looks like you're awake."

This Creature was different from the last one. It had longer, brown fur on its head and silver eyes. It didn't look or sound scary at all.

The pup realized he was lying in a small bed, much warmer and softer than wherever he'd been last. This new Creature reached out a paw, and he gave it a sniff.

It was strange. This one had a different scent. The last one had been male like himself; he could tell that much.

But this one's scent was almost like his mother's. It reminded him of her, and he whimpered happily, stretching out his tongue to lick her. She seemed to like it, because she cooed and patted his head.

"Now that you're awake, let's give you a bath."

She picked him up in her pink paws, and he didn't struggle at all as she carried him somewhere else. He closed his eyes and cuddled against her, hoping he could go back to sleep like this.

But a strange sound reached his ears and caused him to look up again.

It was a soft hissing kind of sound, and he recalled hearing something similar the day he'd been born. If he knew anything about it from experience, it's that it was wet and cold and unpleasant.

He whined remembering those feelings. He didn't want to remember them again.

He cuddled into soft paws of the Creature, trying to hide himself from the cold wetness nearby. She cooed at him again and stroked his head.

"It's alright. I promise it's nice and warm."

Of course he didn't understand her words, but as she lowered him down, he could feel the heat radiating even before he touched the wet stuff.

As soon as it touched his fur, a pleasant warmth washed over him. He yipped at first, but it wasn't for fear or discomfort. He was placed on a hard surface beneath the flow of warm wetness, and it started to pool around his paws.

He sniffed it and barked, waddling around in it as he felt it cling to his fur. It made him feel heavy and a little sleepy, but he was too energized now with this new exciting thing all around him.

He jumped around in that space, yipping as he tried to bite the strange warm substance.

But it wasn't like the things he had eaten before when some had tasted Good and some had tasted Bad. This slipped right through his teeth and disappeared!

Confused, he stood there for a moment, his tiny tail wagging a little. He tried biting the stuff again, but again, it disappeared. But he _did_ manage to get a little bit of it on his tongue. It didn't taste like much, but it made his dry throat feel better.

Now he realized this was almost like his mother's milk. He started to lick up the stuff around his paws, rolling around in it to feel the warmth more.

After a moment, the big furless paws came down on him again. He whined, not wanting to go out of the warm stuff yet.

But the paws didn't take him away. They rubbed more of it onto his fur until it was all over him.

At one point, he felt something else being lathered into his fur. It was white and foamy and smelled very nice.

He relished the feelings as the Creature's claws scratched lightly at his fur. Sometimes he'd lay down happily in the wet stuff, and it would tickle his nose. But the Creature always picked him up before it could get into his mouth too much.

He didn't know how long he stayed like that, but after one more dip beneath the warm milky stuff, he was brought out again. The Creature wrapped him in something warm and dry, and he nuzzled into the folds of the material, sighing tiredly.

But even more so than tired, he was hungry.

He whined a little bit as the Creature placed him back onto a hard surface. She looked at him and seemed to understand.

"Oh, poor thing. You must be starving, huh? Well, at least now the girls can pet you while I get you something to eat."

She walked away, leaving him up there in his warm fluffy thing to look around.

He wasn't on the ground; when he was, the Creatures towered over him and seemed larger than life itself. Where he was now was a bit higher up, so he was as high as halfway up the bigger Creatures' bodies.

He wasn't the only thing up here, either. There were a lot of other Things as well, but none of them moved. They were all strange shapes and sizes, some bigger and others smaller than himself. Some smelled a little, and some smelled a lot.

He didn't know what to do next, but a bit of noise soon gave him reason to look across the place.

The Big Creature appeared again, and this time there were two smaller ones with him. The pup had been asleep before, so this was his first time seeing them.

They were much smaller than the bigger Creatures, but still bigger than himself. He could tell they were both female.

One had the longest yellow fur he'd ever seen (though he hadn't seen many other beings yet in his life). Seeing her eyes was the first time he'd ever seen such a strange color before, but he liked it.

The other one was smaller, and her fur was short and brown, almost like the Big Female Creature, and her eyes looked the same.

That was what sparked the connection for him. The one who had bathed him was the Mother, and these were her Pups!

So then... who was the Big Male Creature?

The pup knew of his own mother and siblings, so he understood this mother and her pups. But who was the big male?

He came over to the mother and they bumped their mouths together, so the pup guessed they were licking each other. The way they acted made him realize the Male probably belonged to the Female, but not as a pup - in some other way that he couldn't quite understand yet.

But he didn't have much time left to think about it, because the two Pups were rushing over to see him now. They were so excited and happy that he got excited and happy too. They yipped and yapped and bounced up and down.

"Can we pet him now, Mama? Can we, can we?"

"Yes, dear. He's all cleaned up now."

"Oh boy, oh boy!"

"Be gentle, Ruby. Don't scare him. I don't want him to bite."

"I will, I will! I've never petted such a small doggie before! I'll be _extra_ gentle!"

The bigger of the small girls (the one with the long yellow fur on her head) helped her sister get close to where the puppy sat. He looked up at them, but he didn't have to look up as much as he did with the Bigger Creatures.

The yellow-furred one put out her paw first, and he sniffed it. She smelled like dirt and grass, and he liked that smell. He licked her hand, and she squealed.

"He likes me!"

"Yang, lemme, lemme!"

The Smallest Pup nudged her sister over and stretched up her paw, but she was a little _too_ small to reach. Her bigger sister picked her up, though she used her paws instead of her teeth to lift her.

The pup sniffed the Smallest Pup's hand. She also smelled like dirt and grass and he decided he liked her too. So he licked her paw, and she squealed even louder than the first pup.

"Eeeee! Mama, Papa he likes meeee!"

"He's such a good dog!" the bigger pup barked.

The two Big Creatures made a happy grumbling sound.

"Why don't we feed him? The poor thing probably hasn't eaten in days."

"All he's had is garbage and that's no meal for a growing dog."

The pup watched the two bigger ones as the smaller ones ran their paws over his head and back, smoothing out his drying fur. They scratched him and made him feel even warmer. Every time he licked their paws, they'd squeal happy sounds, and he liked to make them do that.

It wasn't long before some new smells hit his senses, and he lifted his nose to smell them better.

The two Big Creatures brought over some Things for him and put them down at his paws. The two female pups stopped petting him as he sniffed the Things.

They were all in hard, round stone-like objects which he touched with his paw.

One of the Things was clear, and when he touched it, he discovered it was just like the stuff that fell from the sky and the stuff he'd played in just a few minutes ago. But this was colder, and when he put his tongue to it, it slipped right off.

He whined in frustration and tried again, curling the tip of his tongue back a bit. That time he captured some of the Stuff and drew it into his mouth. He repeated the process once he got more familiar with it, lapping up the clear Stuff more and more.

When he'd finish that, he looked at the next stone-thing.

Inside that were several chunks of Things, instead of one large mass like the wet stuff. He licked one of those Things, but it fell off, too. It had a much stronger taste than the first Thing, and he liked it very much.

He licked it again, but again it fell off. He growled at it, then tried something else. He used his teeth and picked it up, then used his teeth again and again to chew.

It was better than the Food he had found before when he was cold and alone. It was _much_ better.

He ate all of those Things, and the Creatures watched him all the while.

At last, he turned to the final stone-like thing.

In it was something almost like the first one, but this Stuff wasn't clear. It was white.

He dipped his nose in, then his tongue.

He barked in excitement and wagged his tail.

It was Mother's milk!

So he lapped and lapped and lapped it all up, until there wasn't anything left at all. The Creatures were happy and pet him some more.

He understood now. If these Creatures were giving him Mother's milk, then they must be his New Mothers.

He liked them very, very much.

There was a lot more petting and happy yipping all around.

But once the puppy yawned and his eyes began to close, the Big Female Creature picked him up.

"I think he needs to sleep now. Can you girls find a blanket or two and we'll make a bed?"

They nodded and scampered off right away.

The pup tried to stay awake for a little while longer. He felt himself being carried, then put down on some more soft things. He heard the Creatures barking softly to one another.

"So," barked the deepest bark. "He's gonna need a name."

"Hmmm... What do you think, Ruby?"

"Mmmmm... Well, Papa found his sister first right? So we found this puppy second... How 'bout Zwei?"

"Zwei. I think that's a very good name."

"Yeah, I like Zwei!"

"Zwei, Zwei!"

And so the little puppy fell asleep to the happy sounds of his first Name ever.

* * *

For many, many days, Zwei stayed with his new Family.

In fact, he stayed with them for all of the days he knew of.

He was a very smart pup, and he caught onto their ways quickly.

Early on, he began to recognize their Words and Names. He knew that his own Name was Zwei, and he liked having it.

He could tell that all Things in the world had Names, and 'Zwei' only applied to him. It made him feel special.

They took him outside sometimes to let him run in the grass, and even let him come into the big town with them sometimes on walks.

Zwei was amazed by the big town. There were all kinds of Things there, Things he'd never seen before.

And there were other Dogs! Only in meeting them did he realize that not all Dogs were the same kind as him.

Through the other dogs and animals, like the squirrels and birds in the backyard, Zwei learned the contrast between Animals and Humans. He understood that they had their own languages, their own nature and instincts.

But as he grew up alongside them, Zwei learned how to form a symbiosis of sorts with them.

They fed and played with him and gave him a place to sleep, and in return he would bark for them if he ever sensed a Bad Thing nearby. But the Bad Things didn't happen often.

Zwei's favorite Things were the Good Things, and he knew his humans liked those, too.

He learned his Family's names very quickly.

TaiYang was the Big Creature who had brought Zwei to his home. Summer was his mate, and a very good mother to the two pups – children.

Yang and Ruby always loved to play with him, no matter where they were or what they were doing.

As soon as he got big enough, he left behind his blanketed bed in the kitchen at night, and instead waddled into the girls' room. They slept in beds that hung one over the other.

For a while, he curled up on Yang's because it was on the bottom and easier for him to jump onto. But on a loud, rainy night, he'd once heard Ruby whimpering.

So he'd struggled with all his might to climb up that little ladder to reach her. He'd stayed with her, and she'd hugged him tightly.

After that, Ruby always brought him up into her bed.

As he got bigger, so too did the girls. They would eat more, just like he would, and sometimes their roughhousing would get to be a bit too rambunctious.

So their parents would send them outside to play in the nice weather, and Zwei would go, too.

They taught him how to run faster than any other animal he knew. Ruby was the fastest, but after weeks of chasing her and building up his muscles, Zwei was almost just as fast.

Yang was strong. She'd lift up heavy rocks and climb trees - both things Zwei couldn't do.

But he could jump very well, and even if his paws weren't strong, his jaws were.

They trained him to protect, always giving him rubber toys to bite into, or ropes to yank at in games of tug-of-war. He got so strong that soon, Ruby wasn't enough to pull on the other end of the rope, and Zwei could actually drag her forward a few feet. Yang needed to step in and help her sister.

He became a very good guard dog. Sometimes, Zwei would be left alone in the house. TaiYang and Summer would go to work or out hunting, and the girls would attend school.

During that time, Zwei would patrol the house, and once he was certain all was well, he'd play with his toys for a bit before napping.

Most days in the house were peaceful.

On evenings when it wasn't raining or snowing, Ruby and Yang would take him to the back of their yard where the little pile of stones was. Now that Zwei could understand their words, he knew this to be the place where his sister rested.

The girls would always kneel in the grass and put their hands together, and Zwei would curl up and touch his nose to the little stones.

In the warm months, Ruby and Yang always replaced the flowers on her grave with fresh ones, and in colder months, they would put small branches of red berries there.

It was through his sister how Zwei came to understand Death to the best of his abilities. It meant that whomever Death touched would never move or eat or play again.

He was always a little mad about his sister. He felt responsible. As her bigger brother – even when he'd only been a few days old – he felt he should have protected her.

But back then, he'd been small and helpless. Now, he was bigger, stronger, and he could protect those he cared about. Which was why he wanted to always protect his new family.

From the death of his sister, Zwei found a new conviction.

But it was only a few months later when he realized that Death did not give _everyone_ strength.

* * *

It had been one full year since Zwei had joined the family.

He knew this, because one day, Ruby and Yang and their parents had held a celebration for him.

They'd stayed at home with him all day, given him extra food and treats, played with him outside longer, and showered him in affection even more so than they usually did. It was his Birthday, they said with smiles.

Summer presented her youngest daughter with a small, wrapped box with a red bow on top, and Ruby proudly placed it down before Zwei.

"Open it, Zwei!" she beamed. "It's for you!"

At first, he'd been confused as to what "open" meant. He'd heard it before many times whenever they tried to "open" his cans of food, but this Thing was a different shape from his food cans, and he didn't have fingers like they did.

So he started at the tiny box in confusion until Summer nudged Ruby forward.

"Maybe you should help him out a bit, dear."

"Okay!" Ruby knelt down and showed Zwei how to "open" the box. "Like this!" She first pulled the red ribbon, and Zwei watched it unravel. Then, Ruby put her fingers onto the wrapping and tore with her nails a little, revealing something underneath. "Here! Now you try!" She pushed the small box over to Zwei again.

He tried to copy her, using his nails to scratch away at the paper. It tore, just like it had when she'd done it. He got excited and yipped, then shredded it a little more. He used his claws and his teeth too, tearing away at the paper until the Thing beneath it was revealed.

"Ta-daaaa!" Ruby sang.

What she held up was a plastic container, inside of which was a round, red rubber ball.

But the packaging was too complicated even for her hands, so Yang helped her open it. The red ball soon bounced out and onto the floor.

Zwei perked up and barked, immediately chasing after it, stomping at it with his paws before he could finally clamp his jaws onto it. They all cheered for him as he brought it back.

TaiYang suggested they play outside. So all of them went outside together.

They stood in a wide square around the grass and passed the ball back and forth. Zwei would race towards whomever had it in their hands at the time, barking and jumping up and rolling around.

He'd dart after the little red shape as it went flying through the air, and he went with it. He'd learned his incredible speed from Ruby, and he was quick enough now to catch the ball a few times.

Whenever he got it in his jaws, he'd dart across the lawn at top speed with his prize, until Ruby would give chase, laughing. She'd catch him in her arms, roll with him in the grass, and cuddle him close.

They all played for a long time as the colorful leaves fell all around them.

Only once the wind got a little too chilly, Summer insisted they all go back inside for baths and supper.

Zwei pranced at the back of the group with his red ball in his mouth, chest puffed out proudly. He placed it by his food bowl in the kitchen as the family ate dinner and he chowed down his own food.

When he followed the girls into their room that night, Yang picked him up and kissed his head.

"Happy birthday, Zwei!" she said again. She placed him up on Ruby's bed just as the younger girl crawled in.

Ruby laid on her back and opened her arms to him, and he happily slid onto her belly, touching his nose to hers.

"Zwei's a good boy! One whole year you've been here! And we've had so much fun!" She paused to yawn and close her eyes sleepily. "I wonder... mmn how much more fun we'll have together..."

Zwei wondered, too.

He closed his eyes and slept warmly that night.

* * *

Only a few days later, after the best day of Zwei's life thus far, he had the worst.

Summer went out for a mission, which was very common for both her and TaiYang. They'd go out all the time, and always came back.

Only this time, Summer didn't come back.

First, it was just for one night.

Then two.

Then three.

With each passing day, Zwei could sense the air in the house change.

Worry became anxiety, and anxiety became fear.

Soon, no one would smile anymore.

Ruby and Yang didn't go to school. They just sat in the living room by the windows, looking out at the pretty crimson leaves on the trees, waiting.

TaiYang made a lot of calls, and Zwei could hear the frustration and fear in his voice every time.

"What do you _mean_ you don't know?!" he shouted once. "How could you not know? _You're_ the one who hired her, damn it!"

Sometimes he would yell. Sometimes he would cry.

The girls would wait by the windows, barely speaking.

Ruby would just keep repeating herself softly.

"When's she coming home? When's Mom coming home?"

And Yang would pull her close and try to comfort her.

"She'll be home soon. She'll be home soon..."

Some nights, they wouldn't eat dinner, and they'd curl up and fall asleep on the couch with tears on their faces. Zwei always curled up with them. He was worried when they didn't sleep in their beds, and TaiYang was too upset to carry them there.

As the days went on, Ruby's and Yang's conversations began to change. The youngest would cling to her sister and whimper.

"It's been so long. I miss her. When's she coming back...?"

And Yang's answer changed.

"I don't know, Ruby. I don't know..."

Zwei missed Summer, too. But not as much as they did.

For many days, TaiYang stayed alone in his and Summer's room. Yang and Ruby didn't leave the house. Yang only opened the door mundanely to let Zwei out and back in again.

She started cooking the meals for her younger sister, morning, noon, and night. TaiYang rarely came out of his room.

Zwei was sad, but he was also angry at the man. It almost seemed like he'd forgotten about his own daughters.

So Zwei did his best to protect them, though he couldn't hold them like they could hold one another. So he'd curl up with them, lick their hands, and keep them warm.

For a week, the sisters slept on the couch, facing the window, hoping and praying for the door to open.

But it never did.

They'd lie together beneath a little quilt every night and cry themselves to sleep. Zwei slept on the floor beside them, nose pointed towards the door, hoping...

But Summer never came home again.

. . .

TaiYang got a call one day, one Zwei overheard from outside the room.

"Where is she?" he demanded weakly. "Why haven't you found her yet? Where could she have _gone?_ "

"TaiYang-"

"Ozpin, just find her! At least a body... I need to know..."

There was a long pause on the other two words:

"I'm sorry."

TaiYang cursed and wailed lowly to himself, and Zwei heard many loud noises from inside the room.

He scurried downstairs to find Ruby slumped against Yang on the couch, both girls looking exhausted and barely conscious. He jumped up to rest between them, and Ruby reached out weakly to pat his head half-heartedly, saying nothing.

A short while later, TaiYang came down the stairs. To his daughters, it had seemed like years since they'd last seen him or Summer. The two girls pushed off the couch and ran to him, hugging his legs and waist.

"D-Daddy...?" Ruby whimpered. "Where is she? I'm scared..."

But he didn't hug them back. He didn't even look at them. They reminded him of her, especially Ruby.

He only stood there as though paralyzed and sighed.

"She's... she's _not_ coming back."

And that was it.

Both girls had already known it themselves, but to hear their father say it was what broke them.

"NO!" Ruby screamed, shoving herself away from him and Yang. She fell to the floor, sobbing brokenly, trying to crawl away. Yang and her father both tried to help her up, but Ruby screamed at them. "NO! Stay away! I don't want-" She choked, then forced herself to her feet.

She ran up the steps, stumbling on every other one before she tripped up the last one. She all but crawled into her room and slammed the door behind her, but it bounced back open just an inch. Shaking uncontrollably, she climbed up into her bed and cried.

"Mommy... come back... please c-come back... I n-need you... _please_..."

She clasped her hands together in prayer.

But Summer would never come back.

Yang tried to go after her sister, but she was too distraught to move. Ruby had pushed her away...

Her father finally seemed to snap out of his trance of grief for a time to pick her up and hold her close.

"Just... give her time... We all just need time..."

He said as much, but he knew time would never take away this pain. He already knew that. Yang knew that as well.

"Why...?" she sobbed. "Why did it... h-happen _again?_ I-I just... wanna h-have a mom..."

TaiYang said nothing. He merely brought his eldest daughter to the couch and held her as she cried, loud, wailing sobs. His own cries were softer, but just as broken.

Zwei watched them both, fear and distress thick in the air.

He knew what it meant. Summer was just like his sister now. She wouldn't come back to play with them anymore.

No more bright smiles.

No more homemade cookies.

No more warm hugs and gentle songs.

He knew their pain, to some extent. Zwei had been too young to have known his own mother well, but he'd lost her and his sister, too. And with them had gone a part of himself each time.

TaiYang and his eldest daughter were together now, but Ruby was all alone.

Zwei hurried up the stairs and nosed the door open to let himself in.

It was dark inside, the curtains drawn and no lights were on. But he could see the shuddering girl atop her bed, hear her gasping sobs.

"No... n-no... Mom... Mommy, _please_ come back..."

Zwei approached her quietly. He crossed the floor, then climbed the ladder as he'd learned to over the past year until he found himself on the plush blankets of her bed. Ruby didn't turn to look at him, if she'd noticed him at all.

Zwei waddled over, ears down, tail drooping. He placed a paw on her shoulder and whined softly. Ruby jolted, her reaction almost violent.

"NO! Go away! I don't want you o-or anyone else I just want _her!_ "

She shoved him harder than she'd ever wanted to.

With a yelp, Zwei rolled off the bed, but managed to land on his paws. They stung for a moment and he whined again, shaking himself off, determined to try again.

But he didn't need to go very far.

Ruby sat up in a panic as she realized what she'd just done. She threw the blankets off herself and jumped down to the floor, still shaking, her eyes filled with tears. She fell to her knees and reached timidly for him.

"Z-Zwei...?" she whispered. "Are you o-okay? I'm suh-so sorry, I-I didn't mean to-"

The dog simply crawled into her lap and nuzzled close, licking her hand. She sighed in the utmost relief and hugged him.

"I know you... you lost your mom, too. And your sister..." Ruby shuddered at the thought of losing Yang, too. At least she still had her big sister, and her father, and her dog.

That was the first time Ruby learned that she was always responsible for her actions and their consequences. It didn't matter if she was upset and hadn't been thinking. If she hurt someone during such a time, it was still her fault.

And she knew she'd hurt Yang and their dad.

So she scooped Zwei into her arms, and after crying for a while, got to her feet. She held tightly to him as she stumbled out of the room, but she had him to protect now, so she didn't fall.

She limped down the steps, one by one, sobbing and shaking all the while. Yang heard her and hurried over, rushing up to meet her halfway. She hugged Ruby tightly as the younger girl apologized.

"Yang... Y-Ya... ng... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"I know, Ruby. I know. It's okay."

Yang kissed her forehead, and all was forgiven.

Ruby clung to her desperately, thankful that she was still there. She couldn't lose Yang, too.

Yang promised she'd never leave her.

TaiYang got up as well and he found them on the stairs. He picked them both up, one in each arm, while Ruby still cuddled Zwei to her chest.

The four of them retreated to the couch where they clung and cried for a long, long time.

But they didn't let go of each other again.

* * *

It was difficult for all of them.

Summer's disappearance and possible death had taken its toll on the family, as far down as its four-legged member.

TaiYang would get heavily depressed some days, so much so that Yang needed to make meals and do the chores around the house. Ruby always helped as best she could.

But even Yang got overwhelmed sometimes.

TaiYang had lost two wives, but she'd lost two _mothers_.

She'd think of her own mother and some mornings would just cry and not get out of bed.

Whenever that happened, Ruby would hop down and crawl in beside her, and they'd cry together.

Zwei would keep close as much as he could. He wanted them to know he was there for them, too.

TaiYang had been right, in the end. It hadn't seemed that way at first, but time did eventually start to mend the wounds. It would never heal them completely, but at the very least it stitched the wounds to keep them from bleeding out.

A few seasons passed without Summer, but on the first day of her namesake season, the family went out to a beautiful forest.

Zwei followed along behind Ruby as she and Yang treaded behind their father to the edge of a grassy cliff where roses were just coming into bloom. There were a few other people gathered there as well, ones Zwei didn't recognize.

But they were all sad and quiet together as they stood around a small, silver marker.

Zwei recognized it as a grave. The one in their backyard had been made for his sister, and it was marked with pretty stones and flowers.

The people here all laid flowers down on Summer's grave, too.

Ruby picked a wild rose, and though it pricked her fingers and made her bleed, she didn't care. She wept as she placed it over her mother's small grave.

It was that day when they all decided they would try to keep moving forward.

Ruby didn't let herself get so sad anymore.

She played with Yang and Zwei outside again, enjoying the warm, beautiful weather as her mother had always wanted her to. They tossed Zwei's red ball for him, and he chased and chased and barked happily.

And the girls smiled, and after so long of having forgotten how to, they learned to laugh again.

TaiYang hid his grief as best he could, keeping it to himself.

He returned to being the loving father they'd once known and shared with Summer. He even tried to bake them cookies one afternoon, the first batch they'd had since Summer had gone. The treats were burnt and messy, but Ruby and Yang loved them nonetheless.

They learned to live again, to enjoy life as Summer would have wanted them to.

Even on the colder, darker days or the lonelier nights when memories and nightmares crept in, they knew the sun would always come back out in time.

Time.

It passed them by.

Birthdays.

Anniversaries.

Seasons.

Time passed in many different ways, in all different kinds of colors and sounds and scents.

The girls grew, and even Zwei got a little bit bigger.

Ruby decided she wanted to become like her mother. She wanted to learn how to fight and defend, to protect people from sadness in any way that she could.

Once she'd realized her calling, she started to train, designing her precious weapon day and night as she went to school and studied long and hard.

Yang decided to follow in Ruby's path for her own reasons, though keeping an eye on her sister was a part of it. She never wanted Ruby to be alone again, so Yang was sure to stay at her side, no matter the path she chose.

TaiYang, however, was done hunting. He busied himself with other work, things that didn't remind him of his lost loves.

Though he always feared for his daughters in following their mothers' footsteps, he never wanted to hold them back from achieving their full potential.

Zwei was with them all every step of the way.

He grew up with Ruby and Yang as though they were his own sisters. When they came home, they would play with him outside, tossing that little red ball so high up that he could leap to Yang's height without a running start.

He trained in his own way with them, until he knew he'd be able to follow them into battle whenever that day should come.

But before that, another day came.

. . .

Ruby and Yang had grown a lot over the years.

Zwei watched them with almost as much pride as TaiYang.

They became strong, resolved, beautiful girls.

It was a warm, colorful morning when they set out for Beacon. Zwei wasn't quite sure what it was, but they'd been talking about it for weeks and weeks on end.

Ruby and Yang had packed bags, large ones, and the weapons they'd made themselves were leaned on top of those.

They carried everything outside that morning, into TaiYang's car. He said he'd be driving them to the Air Ship. Zwei didn't know what that was, but he could guess it would take them to Beacon.

Once everything was ready, Ruby called for him.

"Zweeeeii! C'mere, boy!"

At the sound of his name, he went running. Scampering across the carpeted floors, sliding on the wooden ones, he ran at top speed until he reached her. He jumped up into her waiting arms and she twirled him around, kissing him over and over.

"This is it, Zwei! Yang and I are going to Beacon! After all the training and school stuff and everything! We're really going! It's finally time!"

She hugged him tightly, kissing his head, his nose, his ears. Zwei yipped and licked her face, his stump of a tail wagging quickly. Ruby giggled and brought him over to the couch where she sat down with him in her arms. She sighed happily, her voice growing quiet.

"A lot's happened since Dad first brought you home, Zwei. Lots of stuff. Good and bad. But you've always been there for me."

She hugged him close, with a gentle fervor, not unlike how Summer used to hug her.

Zwei whined, grunting softly as he kneaded her shoulder. She giggled again.

Just then, a voice came from outside.

"Rubyyyy!" Yang called. "Car's ready! Time to go!"

"Comiiiing!" Ruby turned back to Zwei and hugged him long and hard. "Oohhh I'm gonna miss you, Zwei! But at least Yang and I are going to the same school! Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on her. And we'll come visit first chance we get!

"I know you and Dad are gonna be a little lonely here without us, but as soon as we get our first break from classes, Yang and I'll come back! I'll take care of her, so you take care of Dad. Deal?"

Zwei barked and lifted up a paw. Ruby pinched it lightly with her fingers and shook it. She chuckled and kissed his nose one last time.

"Deal."

She stood, placing him down on the couch as she headed for the door.

"Welp, wish me luck, Zwei! I'll be back real soon!"

Zwei barked and wagged his tail. She gave a salute, and then with a flap of her red cloak, she was off.

Zwei knew he might not see Yang and Ruby again for a while, but he also knew they were going someplace where they'd be very happy.

He'd continue to train in their absence, and he'd made a pledge to Ruby to look after TaiYang. Zwei would have his own duties to tend to, and he knew the girls would be doing what they wanted to.

Zwei hopped off the couch as the car drove away. He waddled into the kitchen, picked up his red rubber ball, and pushed out the little doggie door TaiYang had carved out for him in the back door.

Zwei scampered out into the warm day, running around the yard and dropping his ball, chasing it around as he yipped in delight. He knew he'd need to learn how to play by himself now without the girls here with him.

He ran around the entire yard, perfecting the technique of his jumps, his rolls, his bites.

He pretended they were all there with him: Ruby, Yang, Summer, and TaiYang.

When he finally started to feel the soreness in his legs, he retrieved his ball and waddled over to the little grave at the back of the yard. Ruby and Yang had put a fresh bundle of flowers there early this morning.

They wouldn't be around much anymore to keep doing that, so their father had promised to keep up with decorating the grave in their absence.

Zwei knew they would be visiting Summer's grave today as well, before the girls went off to Beacon.

Zwei placed his ball beside his sister's grave and laid down to nap beside her.

He hoped Ruby and Yang would have fun wherever they were going.

He hoped they would be safe, and that he'd see them again soon.

Little did any of them know that he'd be seeing them again much sooner than they'd thought.

. . .

A few months after the girls had left, TaiYang had been saying how he needed to go away somewhere.

Zwei slept at the foot of his and Summer's bed every night, listening to him mumble about what he should do about Zwei while he was gone.

He couldn't take him with him, he'd said. What could he do?

The answer came to him a few days before he was to depart. He posed the idea to Zwei, who barked happily in reply.

So Zwei curled up in the little package, surrounded by cans of food and his favorite red ball, and he took a little trip in the mail.

And when he next woke from his nap, he could hear familiar voices, talking and laughing as they picked up his package.

Zwei stretched out his limbs as he felt a little shake, bracing himself.

The lid of the container slid open.

And down he jumped with a happy bark.

* * *

 **A/N: This definitely ended up having a lot more things to it than I'd initially intended, but I think it worked well overall! I tried to incorporate everything that I could in it, so I hope you enjoyed!**

 **If you like my work, you can support me on as Kiria Alice!**

 **Please review!**


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